Fair Elections Now Act

Though it doesn't mention the Fair Elections Act by name, this Orlando Sentinel editorial is strongly in favor of a public financing system for congressional elections in the model of Arizona and Maine's Clean Elections programs, arguing that those states offer a much better example than Florida when it comes to reducing the influence of special interest money.

Support for full public financing of elections comes from quite different parts of the blogosphere today: first, Armstrong Williams writing on Townhall argues "Clean campaigns will reduce the power of elites by ending the new arms race for money, and bring back the soul of democracy by increasing the power of the people." Byron Williams, in his piece on Huffington Post,<

Amy Goodman uses this op-ed in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer to take television networks down a notch, accusing them of gauging campaigns for air time, and failing to devote adequate time or attention to actually reporting on the campaigns as they unfold. She points to the Fair Elections Now Act in the Senate as a good measure to shift some of the money lining broadcasters' pockets into other voter education and involvement measures.

No question that one element driving escalating campaign costs is the huge cost of buying TV ad time. St. Louis Today explores provisions in the Fair Elections Now Act which would mediate that cost, allowing candidates to get their message out without spending half their day raising money to run ads.

You all are tearing up the letters to the editor page - this is terrific! After the front page, the letters to the editor page is the mostly read section of the paper, so this is the way to get the word out about Clean Elections, and the Fair Elections Now Act in the Senate. Keep reading for what Clean Elections activists are writing.

The Fair Elections Now Act got notice in a couple of stories covering campaign finance issues over the weekend. The Herald & Review talked about the fundraising activity of Fair Elections Now Act sponsor Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL); he knows as well as anyone how big a role fundraising plays, no wonder he's excited about an alternative.

Wahoo! Public Campaign Action Fund members are tearing up the letters to the editor pages -- just today, three of you had letters published about Clean Elections! Read on to see what your fellow activists are writing.

The Post-Tribune in Gary, Indiana joins the growing list of newspapers expressing support for the Fair Elections Now Act introduced last week in the Senate. They conclude that by raising the profile of voters in elections and reducing the influence of special interest money: "The proposal would go a long way toward eliminating the Jack Abramoffs of the world and take the constraints off congressmen who feel indebted to their financiers."

The Chicago Sun-Times has a great article on the Fair Elections Now Act, praising its potential to reign in campaign spending and produce a Congress mroe responsive to the needs of constituents. Overall, a very clear explanation of the bill, and a pragmatic enumeration of its benefits.

Deborah Burger, President of the California Nurses Association, knows as well as anyone the effects our current campaign finance system has on health care policy: while HMOs write checks up and down Capitol Hill, we watch insurance premiums spike and affordable health care move further and further out of the grasp of ordinary people. That's why she's excited by what the Fair Elections Now Act could mean for comprehensive healthcare reform.